“So, please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookcase on the wall.”
― Roald Dahl

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

My Boyfriend Merlin by Priya Ardis - Blog Tour - Guest Post

My Boyfriend Merlin by Priya Ardis

If you can't trust your boyfriend, who can you trust?

In this teen Arthurian, 17-year-old student president Arriane, aka Ryan, DuLac just found out her badass biker boyfriend, Matt, is a little older than he was letting on. By a few eons.

In fact, he is really Merlin--the Merlin, King Arthur's Merlin, the greatest wizard who ever lived. But Ryan's not impressed. Tired of being a relationship loser, she'd rather kick his legendary behind.

Sure, the world has been crazy ever since the sword and the stone fell out of the sky like a meteor. But despite gruesome gargoyles, a new world of magic, and the guy driving her crazy, Ryan knows that family is everything. Will Merlin sacrifice hers to save the world? Will she be able to stop him?

Storygirl, Priya Ardis, loves books of all kinds--but especially the gooey ones that make your nose leak and let your latte go cold. Her young adult novel, My Boyfriend Merlin, came from a childhood of playing too much She-Ra and watching too much Spock. She started her first book at sixteen, writing in notebooks on long train rides. While reading My Boyfriend Merlin, she recommends pajamas first and a pumpkin spice anything for taste.

What does she like to read? YA books! Coming-of-age books. Books with fantasy and magic with a cool heroine that's really just the girl next door. Books about mythology and legends. And, hello, Mr. Darcy anyone?

Her favorite Arthurian piece is the poem The Lady of Shalott by Lord Alfred Tennyson.

A hopeless romantic, she's a longtime member of the Romance Writer's of America

I am a writer who listens to music while writing and so naturally making a soundtrack for My Boyfriend Merlin was one of the first things I did. To sum up My Boyfriend Merlin: it’s a YA Arthurian in which Merlin goes to high school to recruit candidates to pull the sword from the stone—one of them his girlfriend.

But what does a soundtrack actually signify in the book? To me, it’s the ebb and flow of emotions of the characters as they deal with what happens and more importantly the ebb and flow of emotions throughout the love story.

Here is the music for My Boyfriend Merlin. Disclosure: I’m a huge fairy tale/mythology junkie as well as a superhero junkie. No doubt, you’ll see it the music I listen to.

First, the characters: There are three main characters- Arriane, aka Ryan our nice girl protagonist. Matt, aka Merlin, our hero in a cape. Lastly, there is Vane, hero’s brother and generally, the villain.

Matt’s song - Superman (It’s Not Easy) by Five for Fighting –Why? In My Boyfriend Merlin, Merlin’s alter-ego is Matt. This is a huge struggle in the book for Merlin…does he want to be the “Most Powerful Wizard in the World” or does he want to be plain-old Matt?

1. Crazier by Taylor Swift – The opening sequence. Ryan’s crush and high school.
2. Running up the Hill by Placebo – First blood.
3. Decode by Paramore – The world Ryan knows changes.
4. Dog Days Are Over – Florence and the Machine – Welcome to wizard school.
5. Womanizer by Britney Spears – Ryan meets Vane.
6. Hot and Cold by Katy Perry – Boys suck.
7. Poker Face by Lady Gaga – Ryan’s gambit.
8. Down with the Sickness by Disturbed – Betrayed. An ugly fight.
9. All Around Me by Flyleaf – A kiss in the dark.
10. She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5 – Boy’s dilemma
11. Mr. Brightside by The Killers – Another Boy’s dilemma
12. Just Like A Pill by Pink – Ryan in turmoil.
13. The Fear by Lily Allen – Welcome to London
14. Bloodstream by Stateless – Filled with angst
15. Head over Heels by Digital Daggers – The Christmas Ball
16. Obsession by Sky Ferreira – The Trial
17. Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell – Final Battle
18. Love Story by Taylor Swift – (appropriate since the soundtrack started with Crazier) – Being a YA author, I think, I’ll leave any explanation for this end to your imagination. I will give you a hint. My favorite line is “It’s a love story. Baby, just say yes.”

My Boyfriend Merlin is an eBook available through most major book retailers. The next book in the My Merlin series, My Merlin Awakening, will be coming out in April 2012! Add it on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/priyaardis